


Evol

by InoruMarufuji



Category: Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Does it get better though?, Gen, Heavy Angst, Human Experimentation, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Kidnapping, M/M, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Sacrifice, Stray Kids deserve better, Torture, everyone is hurt, me too, not in my household
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-12-21 05:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21069335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InoruMarufuji/pseuds/InoruMarufuji
Summary: The Evol gene is an extraordinary gene everybody is born with which wields the potential to trigger an Evol, a unique otherworldly power that goes beyond anything science can understand.The gene is inactive though and all attempts to trigger it have turned out unsuccessful thus far.So when some idols suddenly start showing signs of their Evol activating, isn't the obvious choice to experiment on them?





	1. Singularity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WhyAreAllUsernamesTaken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyAreAllUsernamesTaken/gifts).

> For my soulmate that is my ray of sunshine on a dark day <3
> 
> Love you lots, I hope you find a reason to smile every single day.

_♣ I'll show you the future, the unexplored era that is your burden._

_It starts in the dark expense, the singularity. ♣_

_♣ Jungkook ♣_

Evol.

Jungkook of all people knew what that was.

He'd learned about it at school of course, during the obligatory biology excursus at the end of middle school, yet at that time he'd never paid more attention than what was absolutely necessary to get a decent grade, the teacher's words going over his head for the majority of time.

Biology already wasn't his favorite subject back then, but learning about Evol was about as interesting to him as math homework, even if other people continuously squealed about how it was their favorite subunit in this godforsaken class.

As far as he was aware, it wasn't even purely scientific, a lot of the stuff he'd been taught sounded like straight out of a fantasy novel and so unlike anything else he'd previously learned that he found it hard to concentrate.

The concept of possessing some sort of superpower -or 'Evol' as they called it- that could be triggered through a random mutation on some random ass gene that had been dubbed 'Evol gene' was something he couldn't quite wrap his head around and the fact that there were almost no known cases of someone's Evol triggering hadn't made imagining it any easier.

There'd been some instances in the past of course, namely around the 17th and 18th century, but as was the case with most mysteries of earlier times, they hadn't been documented very well or gotten lost over the course of time, meaning there was no actual proof other than some vague reports from people who would otherwise be deemed crazy.

Not really the most reliable source to go by and yet, the library at Jungkook's old school had been flooded with books about Evol and how to activate your own from the very first year the government had decided to implement ''Evol-Biology'' into the curriculum.

It was a stupid subject, a waste of time and yet, he had to admit that he'd thought about it at some point.

He'd thought about it, just about everyone had if he was honest, about what it would be like to have an Evol, but it had only been a fantasy to toy with every once in a while.

When he powered himself out too easily, he thought about what life would be like if he had unlimited stamina, when he injured himself during practice or on stage, his mind immediately went to think about an Evol that could heal all injuries in no time and when he did something embarrassing on camera or messed up dance moves, he wished to have the ability to turn back time.

But unlike his classmates, he didn't actually believe in the existence of Evols.

He'd passed the corresponding test concerning the subject matter though, even if it had been a tight fit with only 59 correct questions out of 150, but back then he'd heaved the biggest sigh of relief when he saw his score.

Sure, it had been significantly inferior to just about everyone's in his class, sure, the teacher had looked worried and a little angry about him slacking off during this important topic, but as long as he didn't need to see the words 'Evol' or 'Evol gene' ever again, he was content.

If he really thought about it, what actually was an Evol?

Even after an entire year of learning about it, he still couldn't explain the where or why or even _what _and he'd believed that it wasn't an issue because after all, almost everyone who'd graduated with him couldn't remember shit about biology or any of their subjects after the final exams, the knowledge seemingly wiped out of their heads.

At the end of the day, it was the same with this Evol thing, right?

It was nothing but wishful thinking for a superior power sent from the heavens, right?

_Wrong._

**》**

**Question 68:**

**What are the initial symptoms of an Evol triggering? (2 points)**

**》**

The change happened over night, though Jungkook had begun to develop an awful sensation in the weeks leading up to it, never quite able to rest peacefully as his mind and body were both becoming more sensitive and agitated.

He'd tried to convince himself that he had merely caught something and was falling sick, but deep down he knew that it was far more than that, that it was far more complicated.

Yoongi had understood what would occur, had noticed it before he himself even had a chance to and had tried to prevent it somehow by figuring out the trigger, but he hadn't come up with anything.

There was no obvious trigger, but Jungkook started having an inner turmoil regardless, a turmoil that wouldn't go away no matter what he tried.

He started feeling as if he was edging closer to a cliff that he could fall off with one wrong move, yet he still kept moving forward against his will, curiosity and anticipation pushing him from behind, laughing to themselves about the miserable fate that would no doubt befall him.

The closer he got to the edge, the quieter their voices became and the more he was aware of dread walking beside him, insisting that he stopped and reminding him of what had happened to Yoongi.

And for a short second, Jungkook did stop, for a short second, he found it in himself to stop, only one step away from that invisible edge, seeing nothing but darkness beneath him, darkness in which Yoongi had already fallen.

It was reaching out to pull him under and he wanted to back away from it, knowing that if he stepped over that edge, he wouldn't be able to return.

At the same time, fate already held a tight grip on him and a gentle shove was enough to send him tumbling straight into the darkness.

**》**

**Question 75:**

**How do people feel after their Evol has been triggered? (3 points)**

**》**

The weird thing was he didn't feel any different.

The only indication that anything had even happened at all was the absence of the tension that had plagued him, gone from his mind and body as if it had just fallen off him.

He could relax again, rest easy at night without being on edge all the time, and for a moment he really thought his mind had just played a trick on him back there.

That was until he saw the boy with stars on his cheeks.

The boy who would appear in his more or less regular visions that forced him to space out whenever they descended upon him out of nowhere.

Of course, ARMY invented a name for this phenomenon of his almost right away, unknowingly spreading the information to people who could and would do frightening things with it.

Jungshook.

That was what they called it and quite frankly, it was a fitting name, because Jungkook was shaken every time he had a vision, be it in the middle of interviews, at home or on stage even.

It could happen everywhere at any given time, but the one parallel was the boy with stars on his cheeks.

And while this description seemed like some sort of romanticization, stars did actually adorn the boys' cheek up to the point where Jungkook couldn't even see his eyes anymore, the blindingly bright light reflecting back preventing him from properly identifying him.

There was always something familiar about him, like he had seen him somewhere before, maybe on the street as a passerby or on TV as a young idol, but he couldn't be sure.

All he really knew was that he had blond hair framing his face and a lot of people surrounding him, if those quiet murmuring noises that always accompanied him were anything to go by, which supported the thesis that he might be an idol that really existed in the world.

Jungkook didn't believe he really had stars on his cheeks though, that just seemed a little extreme, but it left the question why his visions were purposefully hiding his identity in the first place.

He guessed the boy with stars on his cheeks was a pretty important person in some way, at least to him, but should he set off to find him?

Should he ask his hyungs about him?

Should he do nothing?

What even was the point of these visions?

Jungkook unconsciously tore at his hair in frustration and a more than annoyed sigh came from his right, more or less interrupting his thought process for now.

**》**

**Question 96:**

**What are 'Evol hunters'? (4 points)**

**》**

''Jungkook, our performance is in ten minutes, please don't mess up your hair right now.''

''Sorry, hyung'', he automatically responded, yet it must have sounded strange because J-Hope immediately set down his phone and turned to look at him rather seriously.

''Is something the matter, Kookie?''

From across the room Yoongi's head suddenly shot up, worry evident in his eyes as his gaze fell on the maknae too.

He knew, they all knew actually, but he was arguably the most worried out of them all.

He'd been there and he knew how unpredictable an Evol could be, knew of all the side effects that came with having an Evol on standby, knew of the people that actively sought out individuals with Evols under the pretense of science and education.

They plucked suspected Evol users off the streets like flowers, silenced the media and experimented on the poor unfortunate souls that were never to be seen again.

In short, Evol hunters.

Jungkook himself had only heard the term once or twice before in school and hadn't dared to research it once his Evol had awakened, but from what Yoongi had told him he could conclude that these hunters weren't people he wanted to get caught by, especially not during standby, the phase after the initial trigger and before the fully developed, active Evol.

The only real difference between standby and active was the fact that an active Evol functioned permanently -though it was not necessarily stable- while during standby, there could be long periods where nothing happened at all.

Standby was also a lot more attractive to Evol hunters because they could more or less follow the Evol's development and conduct experiments to see whether the Evol could be changed after it had already triggered or whether it was possible to force an Evol out of standby into active.

He shuddered.

Those were no thoughts to be thinking of right before a performance!

''Ah, no... It's fine.''

It really wasn't, but it wasn't talked about either by anyone.

''Are you sure? You took a long time to answer. Is this about-''

Hoseok broke off and gestured wildly, knowing he shouldn't audibly formulate a response.

Evol hunters were said to give a solid price for whoever brought them an individual with an Evol and as far as anyone was aware, it wasn't even illegal to sell someone out, quite the opposite, the government actually encouraged it for whatever reason they might have.

Even thinking about Evol was potentially suspicious enough to be someone's next target, so he quickly tried to play it off.

He was an absolutely horrible liar, but he tried his luck anyway.

''No, not at all, hyung, I'm just revising the choreography in my head.''

Hoseok seemed content with his answer, Yoongi not as much.

He looked like he was about to press the matter, but before he could even open his mouth, Taehyung stormed into the room, being chased by a very miffed looking Jimin who was cussing at him.

The room instantly dissolved into chaos and panic when one of the stylists noticed what appeared to be chocolate stains on Jimin's stage outfit and everyone flocked to his side to try and restrain him before Taehyung could get murdered.

They couldn't stop him from screaming, however.

''You got chocolate on my outfit, Kim Taehyung! How dare you?!''

''It was an accident! Jimin, you know I love you! I would never do-''

''The hell it was, you knew what you were doing! This relationship is OVER!''

''Jimin, I swear on my life-''

''Get over here, so I can kill you!''

''I swear on my_ game console_, it was an accident!''

Jimin actually gasped at this and Hoseok couldn't hold back a quiet snicker that only intensified when Namjoon stirred from his place on the couch where he'd been napping and started complaining.

''God, you're so _loud_! Go sort out your relationship problems elsewhere, people are trying to sleep!''

**》**

**Question 106:**

**During standby, what signs are there to know that an Evol triggers again? (4 points)**

**》**

''Why didn't that come from Yoongi?'', Jin mused to which Yoongi only scoffed, thankfully distracted from Jungkook for a second who tried to fight back what he knew was going to be another vision.

He had gotten pretty good at figuring out when he was going to be hit by one, mostly because there were signs warning him beforehand, like his hands getting clammy, sweat forming on his forehead and his muscles completely locking up, keeping him in whatever position he was currently in.

This was followed by him starting to tune out, all noise and touch ceasing to affect him until he came back, sometimes after a few seconds, sometimes after minutes.

He didn't like spacing out when there were people around and especially not before concerts for anyone to see, but he really had no control over it.

''They've been living together for eight years, Namjoon is slowly becoming Yoongi at this point.''

''Good, maybe that will make you start respecting me a little more.''

''I mean? Keep dreaming?''

At least his members were all occupied right now, maybe he could just get this done with quickly.

The talking around him slowly quieted down into a steady incomprehensible background noise, like static on a TV, before it was completely silent, a void engulfing him and tuning out everything around him.

His sight was the next to go, blurring for a moment as if there were tears obstructing his vision, and he blinked a few times to refocus his eyes.

And there he was.

_The boy with stars on his cheeks._

_He was surrounded by some figures, all of them seemingly performing, but as always, there was little more than murmurs and a faint melody that could be understood._

_The background slowly faded in and Jungkook saw a familiar setting – a concert hall with masses of fans cheering and hyping the group up, now and then joining in with their fanchant._

_The performance had something extraordinary and unique and he felt himself drawn to it as he stepped closer to the stage, passing through the fans in front of him that only appeared as transparent figures anyway._

_The lights in the concert hall flickered aggressively and even without the music he could feel what kind of atmosphere the song was supposed to evoke._

_Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed someone filming the concert, which wasn't a particularly odd thing to do of course, seeing how many fans wanted to eternalize such a precious moment of witnessing their idol on stage._

_No, what really got his attention was the fact that this particuar person, this particular someone looked solid amidst the otherwise transparent fans, but then again, his Evol was still very unstable, so maybe that had something to do with it._

_He continued watching the performance, admiring the dance moves while trying to distinguish the individual members._

_There seemed to be nine in total, but besides the boy with stars on his cheeks, they all appeared as mere silhouettes, blending into the background as if it wasn't obvious already who he should be focusing on._

_Just as this thought crossed his mind, something on stage abruptly changed and one of the silhouettes revealed itself as another young boy, but one whose features Jungkook could make out perfectly._

_Judging by his soft face and doe eyes that were noticeable even through the tough act he tried putting on, it was probably safe to assume he was a maknae, maybe even the youngest of the entire group._

_The boy with stars on his cheeks brushed against the maknae during a change of position and Jungkook could swear he saw some kind of electrical charge between those two, sparks flying from where they had come in contact._

_The maknae staggered and a strange yet intense force washed over Jungkook and the entire audience._

_All around him people just seemed to freeze, their fanchants dying in their throats, making the hall eerily silent, like the setting of a horror film._

_Even the music stopped, as did the silhouettes on the stage, caught in their moves as if someone had frozen time, while the boy with stars on his cheeks and the maknae continued dancing for a heartbeat longer until they too seemed to notice that the music was gone._

_They exchanged a look of utter panic with each other and this time, their voices were as clear as day to Jungkook._

_''Jeongin, what... what is this?''_

_The maknae, Jeongin, looked around, clearly at a loss of what to do as he hurried over to one of the silhouettes and called their name, a name that was lost to Jungkook's ears for some reason._

_  
''…! What's going on? …! Can you hear me, …?''_

_He got no response, not even when he shook the silhouette's shoulder forcefully._

_''Is this your Evol?''_

_Jeongin looked horrified as he faced the boy with stars on his cheeks, all color draining from his face as he started to shake his head violently._

_''No... NO! I don't want one! ...-hyung said it's extremely rare for people to get them, why do I have one? How did it trigger?''_

_The boy with stars on his cheeks examined his hands where he had brushed Jeongin, the answer probably obvious to both of them already._

_''I think... I think it triggered when we bumped into each other.''_

_He paused and was about to add something, yet stopped himself when he noticed movements in the crowd of people._

_Jeongin followed his gaze, as did Jungkook, and sure enough, he saw the fan from before, the one who was filming and who was awfully unaffected by the time being frozen, just like the other two._

_''Don't film us'', the words tumbled from Jeongin's mouth, sounding unsure and scared as he took a step towards the fan. ''Please don't show anyone.''_

_The fan made little to no indication showing if he heard the plea, his camera still aimed at what was going on._

_''Hey!'', the boy with stars on his cheeks yelled, coming forward as well, accidentally brushing against Jeongin once more. ''Cut it out, we-''_

_He didn't get to finish his sentence as the scene unfroze again, the music booming loudly through the concert hall and drowning out everything he might have wanted to say while the fans cheered and the silhouettes performed as if nothing had happened at all._

_But arguably the most unnerving thing was that the fan with the camera just disappeared into thin air, his space in the crowd quickly filled by other fans who were pushing forward towards the stage._

He was disoriented when he came to, pulled out of his vision with a force that made his head spin.

His eyes hurt and there was a horrible burning in his veins, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and concentrate on the voices around him that sounded more and more like those of his bandmates who were still caught in some silly debate.

''Honestly, no! I'd rather go steady with Jungkook than with you!''

''Jimin, that hurts!''

''I don't know why I put up with you two.''

''Be a leader of BTS, they said. It will be fun, they said.''

''Oh shut up, Namjoon, you're just as bad as the rest of us!''

Good, at least nobody had noticed that he'd had a vision.

Though he still wasn't sure what he was expected to do now...

Was he supposed to prevent this scenario from happening?

Had it already happened and he had to figure out what had become of those two?

But how should he even find them?

''Two minutes left, please get on the stage.''

One of their staff members gestured towards the door while the stylists picked at his members for a last time and made sure they looked their best.

Someone applied some more hair spray on Jungkook's hair too, yet he was still too out of it to really register it.

He felt drained and incredibly tired all of a sudden, despite having been thrilled to perform just a few minutes ago.

How could he perform after a vision like this?

What if this vision had hinted at something that would happen during _their _concert as well?

Having his Evol exposed in front of thousands of people was not very high up on his list of things he wanted to experience.

''You coming, Jungkook?'', Hoseok questioned, pulling him up in his usual energetic way and smiling at him. ''For someone who has been looking forward to this performance so much, I'd have expected you to be a bit more lively!''

Jungkook forced a smile onto his face as well, unsure what to say in response as he fiddled with his earrings.

''Yeah, well...''

His gaze unconsciously fell on the clock on the wall that showed that it was currently half past eight, exactly the time they were scheduled to begin their concert, yet he was suddenly nervous as if it was his first day on stage.

It was true, he had eagerly awaited to perform here because it was the last concert left to wrap up their world tour and then go into a nice retreat just in time for Yoongi's birthday.

He was supposed to be all bubbly tonight and still, he just wasn't.

Hoseok seemed to notice too, seeing how his smile dropped a little, but he did both of them a favor by not commenting on it and instead just lightly tugged on Jungkook's arm in a silent command.

''Hey, stop dreaming and get on stage!''

Taehyung peeked around the door, his face set in a playful grin as he waved for the two still left in the room to follow him.

''ARMY is so excited today, come on, let's give them a show they won't forget!''

He was positively jumping around with energy, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of performing and Jungkook was drawn in by it, his body striving towards the door all on its own, wanting to bathe in the cheers he could faintly hear from their beloved fans.

''Alright, let's go.''

He didn't know it at that time, but the vision he had that day would be the last he saw of the boy with stars on his cheeks for a long time.

**》**

**Question 150:**

**Is Evol a curse or a blessing? Is it something physical or something mental? (7+9 points) **

**》**


	2. Divergence

⁂ _The possibilities of the world branch out before my eyes._

_As I walk, I find myself where I started_

_again and again. ⁂ _

⁂ _Chan ⁂ _

September 15th. Felix's birthday.

Normally, on a day like this, Chan would be up early in the morning, way before the rising sun tinted the sky in a beautiful mixture of orange and pink, and prepare a nice breakfast that he could share with his dear members in celebration.

Normally, on a day like this, he would sneak into Felix's room and just let himself fall on the younger's bed in a playful attempt to wake him up or just to cuddle with him for a while before the others were up and able to complain about their lack of love from him.

But today, he didn't feel like getting up, instead choosing to listen to his roommates' soft breathing and lie in his bed with the first rays of the morning sun peaking in through the blinds while his thoughts wandered off to the place they were regularly going to lately.

How many months had passed? Two? Three?

No, five.

He wished he would have just lost count of them at some point because every single day they spent like this tore at his heart a little more, dug the shard of doubt and hopelessness a little deeper into it, just enough to draw blood and taint the ground he was walking on with a trail of red, a trail that followed him wherever he went.

It might have been more bearable if he didn't know the exact day it had happened, if he didn't recall the concert, the cheers of their fans that had made him hot all over because they gave him so much energy and power, if he didn't remember every joke Jisung had made and didn't continuously see all of their smiling faces in his mind.

They trusted him as their leader and he had just let this happen to them.

His hand reached out all on its own, his fingers brushing the newspaper article on his nightstand and he nearly flinched, the paper seeming to cut into his skin just from the touch alone.

The room was still too dark to make out the writing on the torn piece of paper, but he wouldn't have needed light to see it either way, the words long since etched into his mind as an ugly reminder of his failure.

**》**

_ **KTN – Korea's Top News** _

_ **Wednesday, 17th April** _

** Lee Felix and Yang Jeongin missing after concert. **

**Famous K-Pop idols and members of 'Stray Kids' Lee Felix and Yang Jeongin have been confirmed missing since last Saturday after the group finished a concert in Seoul as part of their ongoing world tour.**

**Reports state that the two idols exited the concert hall at about 11:15pm and were on their way to the band bus since there was an autograph session scheduled afterwards, but got separated from their members and disappeared shortly after.**

**The police is now investigating the case, deeming it very likely that the two stars might have been taken by someone for ransom.**

**The rest of Stray Kids have chosen not to...**

**》**

The article was only half complete after this point, the result of Changbin's fit of rage as he'd noticed Chan carrying it around in his pocket wherever they went and since then it had found a new home in the drawer of Chan's nightstand, hidden away from all prying eyes.

As far as he was aware, none of the members knew he still possessed it and he wanted to keep it this way because he knew how painful it was to look at such an article when it was your own family who was missing.

Originally, he'd planned to snatch all further articles about this topic before any of the others could see them and store them in his drawer too, so he could be the only one who was suffering, yet there was one major problem with his idea.

There weren't any other articles.

This one was the only one of its kind, the only one that had covered what had actually happened before the media had caught onto what this disappearance was really about.

It wasn't a simple kidnapping for ransom like they had all wrongly assumed at first, no, once that video had appeared all over YouTube, it had been pretty clear what kind of kidnapping this was.

Sighing, Chan sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and putting the article safely away as his eyes wandered around the room.

Seungmin was already up, as usual, but Minho and Hyunjin continued sleeping soundly, blissfully unaware of today's date, at least until they returned to the realm of the living.

He wished he could tune today's date out too, just erase it for a short while so he could breathe easily again, but instead he reached under his bed and pulled out the present he had gotten for Felix in a spontaneous impulse while going shopping.

It was nicely wrapped and held all the love Chan had for his fellow aussie, as well as endless hours invested in searching it out, so he really hoped it would be to his liking, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to open it right away.

Seeing the present in his hand, he remembered the endless swarm of reporters again that had followed him around while he had been shopping and he frowned.

They had all but jumped him for a statement back then, lingering around every corner as if waiting for him to mess up or break down, but these days they hardly seemed to care and it hurt so much worse.

These days, hardly anyone seemed to care.

He ran his fingers through his hair, suddenly feeling exhausted again despite the nearly five hours of sleep he'd gotten, but he resisted the urge to just fall back into bed and forced himself to get up and make his way to the kitchen.

He had barely stepped out into the hallway when he ran into Woojin coming out of the room he shared with Changbin and Felix, but neither of them exchanged any words and Chan felt it wasn't necessary because there was only one thing on their minds in that moment and they both knew the answer to that.

Woojin stopped in front of Jisung and Jeongin's door, as he did every day, knocking almost timidly before entering the room and Chan unconsciously stopped for a second, feeling a weight dragging him down.

The situation was hard for all of them, but sometimes he felt as if Jisung took it the hardest, despite assuring everyone that he was okay.

He wasn't.

He rejected the members' offers to sleep in their rooms so he wouldn't be completely alone at night, he ate less than what was probably healthy and stayed unusually long at the company to produce songs whenever he felt especially restless, sometimes not even returning home until the next morning.

And if he did return before that, he wallowed in a self-hatred Chan could understand all too well, sitting in the shower while agonizingly hot water poured over him in a relentless stream, sometimes for hours on end to drown out his crying.

He'd fallen asleep in there too once or twice, so Chan had taken to regularly checking the bathroom at night and getting another key for the door made in case he needed to get Jisung out of there.

He clearly wasn't okay, he clearly suffered, but there was little any of them could do if he insisted on keeping his emotions all bottled up.

''Morning, Chan.''

Seungmin greeted him as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, seemingly having waited for him and Chan briefly mumbled a greeting in reply, not even caring about the informal speech as he set his present down on Felix's empty seat.

''Happy birthday, Felix.''

His voice sounded hollow and tired, but just because he was defeated.

He had fought a losing battle with the authorities to initiate a search and retrieve his brothers that had been taken from him, but nothing had become of it since they had only glossed over the case superficially, barely taking witness statements from the members and just searching the neighboring area next to the concert hall where Felix and Jeongin had gone missing without being too thorough.

He would almost guess that the police didn't even want to find them because they secretly hoped to get some interesting insight on the Evol gene through the research the Evol hunters were sure to conduct on his brothers.

It was disgusting to think that they might even be in contact with them, supplying them with the necessary ressources for their experiments just because they were so interested in the project.

The government was becoming quite corrupt these days, as were its public institutions, and it left a bitter taste in Chan's mouth that they could get away with sweeping certain cases under the carpet just like that.

They would have probably been more willing to help him if it hadn't been as obvious that his members really did possess an Evol.

But they had that stupid video that had gone viral on YouTube, exposing their Evol right then and there and somehow, this had been enough of a justification to let Evol hunters take them, as well as other idols who had gone missing shortly after.

In an embarrassingly selfish way, he had actually hoped the case would come back to life again with the disappearance of Kim Seokjin, Jung Hoseok and Jeon Jungkook two months ago, since this time, there was less evidence of them having an Evol, yet once again, the search had been brief and the rest of what was formerly BTS had never seen closure to their case either.

There'd been a public statement made by Namjoon, uncharacteristically short, as if he hadn't been the one writing it, stating that Bangtan Sonyeondan would disband permanently after this issue and thanking fans for staying with them throughout the years, but that had been the last Chan had heard.

Not even Jackson, Namjoon's best friend, seemed to know where he currently was or if he was alright and the rest of the members hadn't come forward either to talk about their situation.

They had dropped off the face of the earth, all seven of them, and nobody was talking about it.

Nobody knew if any of Bangtan Sonyeondan were even alive at this point and in a similar manner, Chan wasn't sure what had happened to his members either and with the way things were going, he would never have any answers to that.

He had no lead for their case, all the evidence they had was the video, made by someone who he could only assume was another Evol user since he had been unaffected by the time freezing.

But then again, that was just a rumor going around.

The concept of Evols was not explored in the slightest and therefore there were no set rules or any knowledge regarding how they functioned which only made it more difficult to describe just what the hell they really were.

No wonder the video had blown up so much.

Looking at it was always terrifying and yet, he came back to it almost every day just to hear the sound of his members' voices, just to hold onto the slim chance that there might be something that could help him find out where his brothers were.

But there was nothing, just a concert that had gone to hell without any of them even noticing and Jeongin's distressed cries of 'Chan! Can you hear me, Chan?'' that made him hate himself because he'd been there, _but_ _he hadn't been there_ and hadn't been able to offer Jeongin any consolation other than his frozen smile.

He was horrible.

''Eat something, Chan.''

Seungmin put a plate in front of him on the table, but Chan's eyes were still fixed on the present he had wanted to give to Felix.

Would he ever have the chance to open it?

Jeongin too, would they ever get to celebrate his birthday again and see their maknae bouncing around like the ball of fluff that he was?

His legs suddenly felt weak and he fell in the seat next to Felix's, struggling with tears that threatened to spill out.

There were always moments that hit him especially hard, most of them being when there were empty spots in their dance practice or when they were all sitting around together, talking to each other about something and then suddenly falling into an unnatural silence where Felix or Jeongin would have normally given their input on.

It wasn't the same without them around and he wanted them back.

Why couldn't he have an Evol that let him go back in time, so he could prevent all of this from happening?

Why couldn't he have an Evol that would have let him know that this was going to happen?

Why couldn't it have been his Evol that had triggered?

Why couldn't he have made a mistake during the performance and just stumbled into Felix instead?

He'd probably never see them again because of this.

He hated himself.

''Morning'', came a weary voice from the door that Chan could immediately recognize as Minho's. He looked up and noticed the younger boy staring at the present on Felix's seat with regret in his eyes. ''I should have gotten one too, shit...''

''No, it's fine'', Chan reassured him. ''It's not like...''

The awful words caught in his throat and he coughed a few times.

''It's not like Felix is here.''

''I hoped he would be'', Jisung joined the conversation, by the looks of it still half asleep as he navigated towards his seat. ''I miss him and Jeongin. I wish they'd just come back.''

''They probably don't have that possibility.''

Seungmin smiled sadly, stirring in the stew that served as breakfast for the members that slowly gathered in the kitchen.

None of them had a strong appetite, so they just picked at the food a little while throwing glances at the empty seats that had remained unoccupied for months now.

There wasn't any training scheduled for this day, so they could take as long as they wanted with eating and do whatever they wanted afterwards, but to be honest, Chan didn't really know what to do with himself and judging by the indecisive faces looking around, neither did the others.

In the end, they decided to go the city and pick out some presents for Felix there so that when he inevitably came home, they could throw a belated birthday party for him.

It was a nice thought, but of course, the other possibility hung in the air as well, scary to think about and all too real.

What if instead of a birthday party they'd have to organize a funeral?

Chan felt a lump forming in his throat, desperate to chase the scenarios away that were encircling him.

Felix had already left them once during the survival show and still came back, surely he could do it again, right?

And as for Jeongin, he hoped that he could find at least a tiny bit of comfort in being by Felix's side because imagining him alone with these dangerous people was unnerving.

They both had to be alright, there wasn't any other choice.

The mood was gloomy for the majority of their shopping trip, only slightly easing up when Woojin ordered chicken for lunch before dropping back to depressing.

It was too much for Chan.

The bright colors of advertisements all around him hurt his eyes, the music that was played everywhere by the shops hurt his ears, the casual brushes against him on the busy streets hurt his body, the cheerful smiles from happy people hurt his soul.

Everything hurt really.

He didn't know how his members managed to have themselves together, but for their sake, he pretended as if he was the same, for their sake, he forced one too many smiles out whenever they were excitedly going on about what Felix would want for his birthday as if he was merely sitting at home, unknowing of the surprise they were going to prepare for him.

But he wasn't.

He was out there with Jeongin, held by creepy people that he didn't know what they were capable of doing, as some sort of grotesque science experiment and as a result, his imagination was running wild with all kinds of painful scenarios.

The most prominent this time around and the one that was etched into his mind for all eternity was of Felix bleeding out onto a white tiled floor with a crying Jeongin next to him who was desperately trying to apply pressure to his various wounds while simultaneously attempting to force his Evol out to stop the blood flow.

It was such a vivid picture that it always gave him the chills, this time too, and it must have shown because Changbin gave him a worried look from where he was standing next to him in front of a shop, waiting for the others who had decided to poke around a little more.

''Are you cold?''

''No, just...''

He made a frustrated gesture that could have meant literally anything, but was perfectly understandable to Changbin in that moment.

''Your mind is working against you?''

Chan nodded. ''I keep thinking about what these people are doing to Felix and Jeongin to activate their Evol and how far they are willing to go. What if they seriously hurt them and the reason BTS is missing too now is actually because they already...''

He stopped himself, reviewing the dreadful words in his mind.

Because they already _what?_

Already killed his precious members and taken BTS as their next victims?

He felt like throwing up even considering something this fucked up, however, at the same time he couldn't deny that it seemed like a possible conclusion.

''I don't think they're dead y-...'' Changbin suddenly broke off, as if it wasn't painfully obvious what he had wanted to say, and shook his head before he started again. ''I mean, no, I don't think they're dead.''

Yet.

But how much longer would they be kept alive now that there were more people to experiment on?

When would these people go overboard with their experiments, simply because they could stand losing two people when they still had three?

When would they just give up trying to activate his members' Evols and kill them?

An image of Jeongin flashed in his mind, his dead body meager and bruised beyond recognition, floating on a river after being strangled and tossed out like trash.

He saw random people trying to fish him out, but making sure not to touch him more than necessary because they were grossed out by the smell of death emitting from him.

Then he saw Felix, stuffed into a garbage bin with his blond hair dirty and matted and his chest cut open, gory details of his entrails on full display, some of them even hanging out of his body while blood was spilling all over him.

Oh god.

His stomach was roiling.

He was going to be sick, he just knew it.

Changbin obviously knew it too and before Chan could have even said a word, he was gripped by his arm and dragged towards the toilet while his stomach rebelled.

Nausea clawed at his throat and no matter how much he tried to force the bile down, he couldn't do it, _he couldn't do it_, but he also didn't want to make a mess, so as soon as he spotted the toilet bowl, he pushed Changbin aside and made a dash towards it, just barely reaching it before he violently vomited.

He felt miserable and pathetic, tears springing to his eyes as he heaved again and again, every contraction bringing up more of the pitiful bits of chicken he'd had while Changbin attempted to soothe him by rubbing his back.

His stomach was turning over continuously, forcing everything up and out, and he sank to his knees in front of the toilet, his legs suddenly feeling way too weak.

He had no concept of time, but after a while, when more voices got loud from outside the toilet stall, he realized he was only dry-heaving, clear liquid dropping into the bowl as his body had nothing left to get rid off, and when he raised his head, he was greeted with a glass of water that he didn't know where it had come from but was appreciative of anyway as he seized it.

''Are you feeling better, Chan?''

Chan tried to nod, he really did, but he was dizzy and his throat hurt and he was shaking and the world was spinning and Felix still wasn't here and neither was Jeongin, so how could he feel better?

Someone, he wasn't sure if it was still Changbin, gently pulled him out of the stall, so they could bring a wet cloth up to his face and carefully wipe over his mouth while a hand was closing around his own, squeezing comfortingly.

''It's okay, we got you.''

Hyunjin.

Chan's eyes were still watery, so he couldn't make him out, but he would know that voice anywhere.

When had his members gotten here?

Had they witnessed his pitiful breakdown?

At this point it was largely irrelevant anyway, they all probably knew how weak their leader was.

Some kind of leader he was, kneeling on the floor and being comforted by his team when it should be the other way around.

''I'm sorry'', he choked out, his throat seemingly on fire. The glass in his hand shook dangerously and someone quickly took it away before it could break. ''I'm sorry for being so weak.''

''Nonsense, Chan.''

He was embraced in a tight hug that made him sob because he was so disgusting right now and they still showered him with their unconditional love that he didn't even deserve.

''You're the strongest person I know.''

Woojin's hand came up to gently comb through his hair and Chan eased into his fingers while he tried to get his breathing back under control.

He wanted to object, wanted to say that he wasn't strong enough to protect his family from being taken from him, wanted to apologize for always disappointing them, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a raspy cry of ''Water''.

Jisung was the one who held the glass to his lips, tilting it ever so slightly while giving him a sympathetic look.

''There you go.''

Cold refreshing liquid entered his mouth, all of which he greedily gulped down in order to cool his throat and remove the acid still there.

And then he said one more thing, with a voice that was so ridiculously weak that it offended him.

''I want them back.''


	3. Origin

_♣_ _Take me to the place of which you spoke,_

_so that I may see the souls of those so tormented._ _♣_

_♣_ _Jungkook __♣_

_The cool breeze caressed his face, calling him away from the freedom of the open space he'd wandered around in towards the forest that stretched out in front of him._

_The trees' leaves were tinted in yellow, red and brown, shaking lightly in the soft gusts of wind, some already on the ground as a reminder of the fact that autumn was upon them once more, but most of the colorful specks remained on the trees still, not quite ready to let go yet._

_The leafy carpet crunched beneath his feet as he walked towards his destination, towards the building hidden away so deeply within the forest that had remained empty for such a long time, but had now been renovated and modernized for a new cause. _

_The white walls, void of any sort of door or window, hurt his eyes, but as his gaze wandered upwards, he caught sight of some ornate windows high up in the building._

_Behind one of those windows, behind secure locks, he was hugging himself, head hung low and leaning against the glass as if he was yearning to be on the other side of it._

_Stardust. All that reflected in this boy's tired eyes was stardust as he raised his head, the stars on his cheeks long since torn off, leaving freckles behind in their stead._

_Running through his veins was something powerful, something Jungkook couldn't quite grasp, yet he still felt himself reacting to it._

_A feral instinct from deep within, from the very corners of his being, was drawing him to the boy like moths were drawn to light, even as his mind warned him of the danger, even as he knew it would hurt him if he got too close._

_He was pulled forward as if someone was rolling up a string that was attached to him, but he didn't fight against it because maybe this was retaliation._

_He had failed this boy, he had failed Jeongin, people whose lives he'd held in his hands and whose fate he had ignored, so if he was going down another endless abyss, he at least wanted to be pushed down by those hands of theirs._

_His steps were heavy, he was a man walking to his death, the guillotine's blade was hanging right above him and yet, he held his head high, trying to make eye contact with the boy to apologize to him._

_Although Jungkook had no way of knowing it, the article long since erased from his memory, the boy's name danced on his tongue and he called it with a voice that didn't belong to him._

_''Felix!''_

_He noticed the accent in it, an accent so far from his own that he briefly thought he had become Namjoon._

_Was it British? Was it American? Was it Australian? What was it? _

_''Felix!'', he felt himself calling again, surprised when the boy actually showed a sign of having heard him and turned to look at him._

_Jungkook didn't know what he had expected his reaction to be, but a tired smile had definitely not been his first guess._

_''Chan.''_

_The name fell so easily from Felix's lips, unlike the words that followed after, all muted like they so often were, but Jungkook didn't need to hear them anyway, they weren't meant for his ears._

_He was still approaching the building, passing the lines of trees to his sides, yet suddenly stopped when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, hidden behind some bushes as if it wasn't meant to be seen by anyone._

_Nonetheless, he still strayed from the path he was on to examine what the specks of colors amidst the green coppice were that he could see more and more clearly the closer he got._

_He had the distant feeling that Felix was calling him back, trying to spare him from unnecessary trauma, but since he couldn't hear him, it remained a speculation._

_At least until he was only a few feet away from the colors, able to make out the outlines of somebody lying on the ground next to a single red flower that was curiously sticking out of the earth._

_Red._

_There was so much red all over the person, originating from a wound on their chest and looking as if it had been smeared all over their body._

_A sudden urge overcame him and he sobbed, cringing back._

_He was repelled, no, **Chan **was repelled and despair bubbled in his chest, despair and blame as he swayed on his feet, his throat suddenly closing up on him._

_''I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-''_

_The words spilled out of his mouth like a waterfall, the accent once again seeping through his useless crying._

_A part of him was pulling him away from the scene, back to the path and back to Felix, but the other pushed him forward, towards the body on the ground that was just as much his responsibility._

_He was torn between what to do, so Jungkook thought for a second he would just continue standing in this spot, yet he was proven wrong when a jolt went through him all of a sudden and he saw Chan running towards the body._

_There was a weird moment of dissociating as he came to realize that he was suddenly Jungkook again, his soul seemingly having been pulled out of Chan's body which caused the other idol to collapse after the first few steps as if he was nothing but a puppet whose strings had just been cut._

_He crashed to the ground with a hoarse cry, a sound of broken glass reaching Jungkook's ears at the impact, yet he didn't understand where it had come from._

_''Chan?''_

_His voice. His own voice._

_It was a weird feeling hearing his own voice and it was even weirder that he felt as if he should have just kept quiet._

_He felt as if he was interferring, disrupting the flow of time, simply by existing here in this space._

_It felt as if he was a member of the audience who had climbed up on the stage to pester the actors._

_But instead of getting down like he was supposed to do, he stayed on the stage, slowly inching closer to Chan who made no indication to get up, instead lying face down on the ground while silent sobs racked his body._

_He couldn't just let him suffer like this._

_He carefully crouched down, his hands reaching out to very gently shake Chan's shoulder, trying to see if he was okay, responsive, and aware of his surroundings._

_Touching him was the worst thing he could have done in this situation._

_His fingertips had barely grazed over the idol's shoulder and still, it was enough to draw out a raspy scream from Chan who was suddenly choking, liquid oozing out from under his body in a steady flow, rapidly tainting the grass and leaves with blood._

_There was so much of it, a dark sea that spread out far more quickly than should be possible and Jungkook straightened himself up and took a step back in terror as the blood hungrily licked at his shoes._

_He struggled with breathing too, a searing pain ripping through his throat and causing tears to form in his eyes._

_He wanted the scene to go away, he couldn't look at this and still, it was impossible for him to turn away, to turn his back on someone who was so helpless in front of him._

_He didn't even know Chan, not beyond name, but seeing him dying on the ground was gruesome either way and he couldn't breathe._

_The taste of blood filled his mouth, more and more of it gathering there from where it welled up in his throat and he couldn't fucking breathe._

_His hands went up to his neck, yet he immediately withdrew them again when they touched a nasty wetness, his mind already understanding what was happening._

_He still choked when he saw his hands stained with blood, a gargled, incomprehensible cry for help escaping him, but **he couldn't breathe**._

_His throat was slit and he was panicking as his sight was suddenly starting to blur in front of his eyes from the tears._

_Why was this happening? What the fuck?!_

_''Fe...lix...''_

_That was Chan coughing, Jungkook was pretty sure although he couldn't see anything clearly, just an overwhelming amount of red flooding his senses._

_Was Felix even still there? Was he watching them die, unable to do anything?_

_''Sorry...''_

_Sorry?_

''JUNGKOOK!''

This time, his senses returned all at once to the real world and he flinched at the volume of a familiar voice, the tears obstructing his vision remaining for a few seconds longer before he wiped them away, revealing a worried Hoseok kneeling on the floor in front of him, his hands on Jungkook's shoulders and his nails digging into his skin.

''Oh thank God.''

Tears formed in his eyes too all of a sudden and Jungkook tried to formulate a response, only to realise that he was breathing heavily, his lungs aching as if he had been underwater for too long and was only now rediscovering the sweetness of oxygen.

He could breathe again.

He could breathe again and out of instinct, his hand came up to feel his throat, smooth as ever and without any gashes or blood.

He wasn't hurt, he wasn't dying, of course he wasn't, but the relief that washed over him was short lived as he recalled his vision, Chan lying in a puddle of his own blood and still apologizing to Felix for some reason.

It had been such a normal vision at first, why did he have to go and fuck it up by touching Chan? What had he been thinking?

He knew his Evol showed him future events, had technically known ever since that newspaper article had fallen into his hands, but he was ashamed to admit that he hadn't really done anything with that information until it had been too late.

He'd realized who had sold Felix and Jeongin out, but he hadn't tried to actively hunt that person down and press them for clues because it _hadn't been his responsibility_.

Those idols that had gone missing had nothing to do with him or his company, so although it had been a heartless thing to do now that he thought about it, he'd done nothing to help and just concentrated on their next comeback.

And now that came to bite him in the ass.

Because now his own hyungs had been involved in this shit and now he was having visions again and now it was his responsibility to make sure they were all getting out of here.

Seeing Chan get hurt like this was not a joke and having an innocent idol's death on his conscience was one thing he definitely didn't want to add to his agenda.

''You can't just stop breathing all of a sudden, Jungkook!''

Hoseok was openly weeping, his hand uselessly trying to wipe away tears that kept on coming, accidentally smearing the dirt on his cheeks all over his face and creating a morbid display of his suffering.

He hadn't gotten to shower in nearly a week, hadn't had anything to eat for the past four days and with the condition Jin was currently in, it was hard for him to remain positive, every little thing able to break his world into pieces.

Jungkook swallowed uneasily.

He could only imagine how horrified his hyung must have been when he'd started choking and gasping for air, how he must have been shaking him desperately, unable to find the source of the problem, how he must have been begging him to stay alive so that he wouldn't lose anymore of his family.

''I'm sorry, I don't have any control over my Evol'', he said earnestly, taking a reassuring hold of Hoseok's hand just to realize how much he was shaking.

He was stressed beyond what was healthy, in desperate need of some peace and quiet to relax, but with their current accommodation that was hard to do.

The room they were held in had originally only been declared a temporary solution by one of the Evol hunters, a place where they had to stay until they could be transferred into a more convenient room for 'social testing', however, as it stood now, they'd never gotten a new room and had to make do with one that possessed a single bed for the three of them and a bathroom without a shower.

When the hunters retrieved one of them for testing purposes, the other members were usually allowed to eat in some sort of cafeteria and have a shower, all under strict supervision, but that privilege was often taken away when they were misbehaving.

And even though Jungkook knew of the consequences, he still couldn't help acting out sometimes, especially when these people treated his hyungs like lab rats, not caring if they were hurting them or causing permanent damage.

The amount of times he had lashed out at them for that must have reached a pretty high number at this point because they were quick in delivering punishments these days and excruciating ones at that.

They had never been deprived of food and showers for this long of a time and if he didn't have anything soon, Jungkook felt as if he would collapse.

It was probably even worse for Jin.

His gaze fell on his eldest hyung who was curled up in the only bed, sweat dripping off his reddened face while shivers went through his body from time to time despite being wrapped in several blankets.

He had been tested on not too long ago and come back a little dizzy and with a major laceration that probably needed stitches, but since that hadn't been an option for them, Hoseok had resorted to wrapping toilet paper and towels around the wound while trying to keep it clean with water.

It was sure to leave an unnecessary scar, but the worst part was that the wound had actually gotten infected a few days back which had resulted in Jin's condition gradually worsening.

He really needed some medical treatment or at least food to get his immune system back together, yet nobody had cared to check up on them and at this point Jungkook almost feared they were just going to be left for dead in here because the tests had all turned up unsuccessful so far, his Evol seemingly retreating into the furthest corner of his mind whenever they tried to get it to show.

They knew it was there, they just hadn't figured out the trigger yet, stress, pain or anger doing nothing to him as far as they could tell.

He didn't know why his hyungs were here though, neither of them had exhibited any behavior that even remotely resembled them having an Evol, but then again, what did he know, it wasn't like he was around them 24/7 and would have noticed it first.

Irony off.

A groan came from the bed, followed by a heartbreaking sob from Hoseok that pulled him out of his thoughts again and both of them immediately scrambled to get to Jin's side, their hands still interlocked in a comforting gesture.

''Hyung?'', Jungkook asked, hating how unsure his voice sounded as he hesitantly reached out to evaluate whether Jin's fever had gone down.

To his surprise, Jin actually reached up to stop him, gently pushing against his hand with what little strength he had and even though Jungkook could have easily overpowered him, he let his hand fall to his side again.

''I'm fine, don't worry about me.''

His voice was a little hoarse, but what really scared the maknae were his eyes, unfocused and glazed over as if he was floating in some sort of painful haze.

If he didn't even have the strength to hide his pain from his members anymore, Jungkook doubted he was as fine as he wanted to make them believe, but he bit his lip to keep himself from voicing that thought, wanting to preserve what Jin had left of his pride.

Hoseok also caught onto the obvious lie, causing more tears to well up in his eyes, yet he simply took a deep breath and leaned against the bed as he wrecked his mind for a topic to talk to his hyung about to distract him for a while.

Of course there was the obvious topic of Evols and whether he thought his had awakened yet, but it seemed like a tasteless thing to ask right now, so that was out.

There were the empty promises he could make about getting out of here soon and the laughable plans of escape they had come up with, all of which made his skin crawl with how poorly thought out they were.

And lastly, there was the dreaded topic.

''How do you think they are right now?''

The dreaded topic they kept coming back to because it was the one closest to their hearts.

''I don't know'', Jin sighed, tearing at his hair in frustration and worry and accidentally exposing the makeshift bandage around his arm that was stained with crimson blood.

It wouldn't stop bleeding. It wouldn't stop fucking bleeding.

Every time he thought the wound had closed for good, one wrong move on Jin's part had it open again.

Hoseok wanted to cry.

''Let me change that for you'', he suggested in a shaky voice, already trying to get up on legs that were far too weak to support his weight.

He'd changed his mind, he didn't want to talk about the rest of his members, didn't want to ask himself why they hadn't come yet, didn't want to think about what could have happened to them and whether or not they were even alive.

He didn't have any answers that were different from yesterday, nothing had changed even though everything had changed.

And while he desperately wanted to believe that the members were fine and that there was still hope for them, he couldn't deny that some part of him, the weak part, had already given up.

He had already accepted that he was going to die in here, that he would never get to experience the thrill of performing on stage again or fall asleep in the presence of his members that were his family away from home.

He would never listen to Namjoon's pep talks and deep discussions about philosophy, art and all the beautiful things in life again, never have Taehyung join him during a Cypher performance again and play games with him, never tease Jimin again and cuddle with him in the evening, never hug Yoongi again and bring him hot chocolate when he was writing lyrics at midnight.

He would never... never truly live again.

His life was over. This was it.

His legs gave out, but before he could crash on the ground, Jungkook was next to him, catching and lowering his body slowly.

''Easy there, hyung...''

His voice was soothing and sweet as always, his resolve unbreakable as always, his demeanor strong as always and it really irked Hoseok how much everything was like always while they were dying.

Of course he'd never wish for Jungkook to break down and turn into a nervous wreck, but at the same time, he almost wanted him to, just so he could confirm with himself that it was normal that he was losing his mind.

''Don't strain yourself, Hobi'', Jin agreed, hiding his arm under the blankets again since he knew how much the sight distressed Hoseok. ''I'll be fine.''

_No. No, you won't._

_You need medical attention and you know it._

_Stop acting tough, stop acting as if you can handle it._

_No, you're not fine, you will never be fine after this._

The thoughts flew around in his head, but none of them escaped his mouth and he felt it wasn't necessary because Jin knew, he surely already knew what he was thinking.

''I still think we should change your bandage, Jin-hyung.''

Jungkook retracted his hands from Hoseok's body, carefully testing if he was going to be alright without his support, and tugged at the blankets around Jin.

''Come on, get up, I'll clean the wound.''

He spoke as if he was trying to coax a child out of its hiding spot and Jin shot him a fake insulted look that made Jungkook chuckle lightly.

He was about to answer with some witty or even sarcastic remark, yet all words died in his throat when he heard the dreadful sound of approaching footsteps in the corridor behind their door.

They never knew if it meant more testing or maybe even a permanent relief from life itself, but Hoseok was, for once, prepared for anything they were going to throw their way.

He moved in front of Jin, just like Jungkook who took on a defensive stance, not willing to let these people hurt his hyung again.

Nevertheless, he still tensed when the door was unlocked and someone stepped into their room, as usual with a taser gun resting against the palm of their hand in case Jungkook acted out again.

Hoseok had lost count of how many times he'd gotten himself tasered, how many times he had to apologize on his maknae's behalf for things he would have done too if he had the courage.

But this time, Jungkook didn't attempt to lash out or fight the man standing there.

This time, he just stared.

''What.''

It wasn't a question.

He wasn't asking, more like challenging the man who just shrugged at the hostility, having gotten used to this cold greeting.

''Good morning to you too, Jungkook.''

The casual use of his name from a goddamn Evol hunter of all people annoyed Jungkook, but he kept his cool by taking three deep breaths, just like Jin had taught him.

''I take it you're all hungry?''

Absolutely starving was more the word for it, but yeah, sure.

Nobody said anything and a long awkward moment passed before the man frowned.

''Anyway, I'm here to take you to the cafeteria.''

''All of us?'', Jungkook inquired tensely, his hands itching at his sides as he had to hold himself back from punching the man. ''Because if not-''

He didn't know why he felt the need to add that part, why he felt as if it would actually change anything if he threatened them, but he didn't get to finish his sentence anyway before he was interrupted.

''Yeah, all of you. Don't worry, we already have our guinea pig for the day.''

Such a chilling statement, but the amount of relief it brought to them was overwhelming.

They were safe for now.

It was a selfish thought, but granted, Jungkook was ready to throw pretty much everyone under the bus if it meant his members were safe for a little while.

At least that's what he told himself.


	4. Struggle

_≛_ _Those who were born into an era of false gods _

_turn their heads up towards the sky,_

_seeking salvation from above._

_But alas, the fruit of paradise is not freely shared. ≛_

≛ _Felix ≛_

There were really people out there who referred to Evol as God's blessing for devoted followers of religion.

There were really such people out there.

There were really people out there who genuinely prayed to their god to grant them an Evol and who lived life as lowly as they could in order to appease said god.

There were really people out there who sacrificed chickens, lambs or even cows for this power, this damned power that he would have gladly given away for free if he had the option.

Felix had met such people long before he started feeling weird, long before his body started prickling and itching and long before he started running on adrenaline all the time and for a while he'd actually believed them when they preached about how he needed to be cleansed in order to receive the holy blessing called Evol.

From a religious point of view, it was so easy to explain why there were so few people with this blessing, so easy to convince the public that they just weren't pure enough to have a superior power.

Science clashed with that idea, as expected, but they lacked the solid evidence, the actual cases to disprove what the churches were proposing and back when only a handful of Evol users had existed, the phenomenon having not yet spread across the world, it had been difficult to conduct any research at all.

But that wasn't the case anymore.

The concept of Evols was well known, as was its preferred target group, so it only made sense that science had started to get their research going, even if he wished they hadn't.

He wished they would just leave the whole Evol thing to the churches.

At least the churches weren't capturing innocent people, keeping them locked up like rats and prodding at their helpless bodies.

At least the churches knew how to mind their own goddamn business and leave the unfortunate souls alone who had been 'blessed' with this power.

''Restrain him.''

Although, how people considered Evol a blessing was beyond Felix.

No god would ever wish this upon its followers and as someone who was religious himself he found it insulting to even consider it.

It didn't feel like a blessing to be strapped down to some kind of experimentation table, the cold cuffs clicking around his wrists as his shirt was lifted up to secure a wired device to the skin of his stomach.

He hissed at the sensation of metal on his body, but was powerless to stop it, instead watching how these people hooked him up to a monitor that immediately penetrated the eerie silence in the room with his unsteady and fast heartbeats, the likes of which he knew unsettled Jeongin.

''Hyung, no, hyung...''

The maknae whined from where they were tying him down on a chair at the other end of the room, just barely out of Felix's direct sight, just far enough away to trigger his protective instinct, which in turn would only benefit the scientists when they tried to force his Evol out.

Evol wasn't a blessing.

It was a curse, one that devoured Felix alive, chipping away at his body more and more until it completely belonged to the power borrowing him.

Because that's all it did. Borrow him.

People liked to think of an Evol as a force to control as they wished, but he wasn't the one who could call upon that force to do his bidding. If anything, it ordered him around, wordless but all the more powerful, taking joy in seeing him crumble under its strength.

Because an Evol was sadistic and cruel, like a virus that feasted on the suffering of its host.

It was there, nestled in the deepest corners of his mind, a mental demon spawned by that awful Evol gene, but it was just as much the marks appearing on his skin and the foreign hormones flowing through his blood, tainting his entire body.

When it triggered, it was always the mental part first, always the feeling of _something _being there in his mind. Being in his brain.

This feeling didn't hurt, but it started to hurt the moment the Evol released hormones into his bloodstream, the sensation so unbearable sometimes that he wanted to tear his skin open.

The hormones were the _really _interesting part about experimenting on him, he guessed, because they consisted of chemicals that weren't even known to mankind yet.

But then again, everything about Evols was unknown to mankind.

They were something physical and something mental at the same time, hard to describe, but easy to see when they showed themselves.

They were a strong power that was weakening his body.

They were a force desired by everyone, but feared by those who had them.

''Will you show us your Evol today too, Felix?''

A hand ruffled through his hair in what could have otherwise been an amicable gesture and Felix snarled at the man in front of him, unable to do much else with his hands strapped down on the experimentation table.

He briefly considered spitting in the man's face as well, but that would require him to actually have any aim, so he opted for a nasty glare instead, feeling satisfaction well up in him when his captor's face fell in disapproval.

These people still had the delusion that what they were doing was just and necessary for scientific research, honestly expecting Jeongin and him to subject themselves willingly to this madness.

And quite frankly, Felix would have subjected himself to it a thousand times over if it meant they were leaving Jeongin out of this, but they wouldn't because all they were after were quick results and torturing someone dear to Felix was by far the most effective method to get his Evol to show itself.

They never really made any effort to force Jeongin's Evol out, at least not anymore, but that could also be because it was difficult to properly test a power that could stop time when they were also being affected.

Felix's Evol, however, was promising to them, as well as tempting, even though they hadn't quite figured out how it functioned.

Hell, even Felix himself had no clue what it did, all he had to go off was the one time he had accidentally awakened his maknae's Evol, yet whenever one of his captors tried to use that power to awaken their own, nothing happened and they didn't have any explanations beyond insinuating that he had more control over his Evol than he let on.

But he didn't. He _really _didn't.

''Hyung...''

Jeongin's pitiful voice brought him back to the situation at hand and he looked over to where he could only guess Jeongin was sitting on a chair, his hands bound behind his back and a blindfold over his eyes.

From the corner of his eyes, Felix could see he was already shaking, dreading what he knew was about to come and his heart constricted painfully when the first sob tore from his maknae's throat, barely suppressed and balancing between panic and frustration.

Something stirred inside of him, tearing itself lose from the corner in his mind it had resided in and barely a second later, white hot pain shot through Felix's veins like poison, his Evol releasing the first wave of hormones as it soaked up Jeongin's fear like a sponge.

Someone was immediately at his side to take a blood sample, the needle penetrating his skin feeling like it was trying to set him on fire.

He could see the syringe slowly filling with his blood, the consistency a lot more watery, a lot thinner than what was probably healthy and its color a lighter shade of red than usual, a side effect of having been brightened by the hormones.

By all means, it looked terrifying, but Felix didn't have the time to further examine it as his body suddenly contracted violently and the sensation of being burned alive washed over him, forcing him to shut his eyes as he exhaled shakily.

His skin was itching, like he had sunburn all over and his nails uselessly scraped at the table under him in order to get some sort of relief, yet his body didn't have mercy on him and neither did his Evol, instead sending out the second wave of these god awful things that burned him from inside out, threatening to blow up his veins with how much force they were pumped through there.

''Oh, look at this! Amazing!''

The voice was giddy and awestruck and a cold hand took hold of his wrist, gently caressing and feeling his body's power lines that were probably pulsing with energy, every touch a shock to Felix's system as it struggled to keep his body temperature stable.

He wanted to scream.

There was an immense pressure building up in his head and the whole world seemed to tilt dangerously as if someone had ripped the very ground away from under him.

He was falling, falling into an unknown pit, into an endless darkness while a raging fire was ravaging his skin from the outside and charring both his organs and his mind from inside, yet he couldn't bring himself to scream, all sound dying in his throat, pushed back down by invisible smoke clogging his airways.

He could hear the horrible sound of himself choking, followed by Jeongin's almost hysterical crying and begging for faceless voices to leave him alone, but the worst part was undoubtedly his Evol's presence growing stronger through his misery and the way it was feeding off him to nourish itself.

He didn't want this, but these people had still lured it out regardless, defying him and the little control he still had over his body and that not even for the first time either.

Before he knew it, hot tears were streaming down his face, a humiliating reminder of the 'blessing' he had received, the fruit of paradise that had been given to him permanently.

If this was truly the fruit of paradise, it was a goddamn nightmare.

The skin on his arm prickled, instantly making a chorus of excited gasps erupt around him as people came closer to have a look at this phenomenon of his as if he was a caged animal in a zoo.

''Is it active?'', someone asked and Felix would have scoffed, had he found his voice, the excruciating stream in his veins numbing down all feeling in his body except the damned burning and the warmth that was starting to spread from his arm.

_He didn't want this._

He couldn't even put into words how much he just didn't want this.

''Felix?''

Jeongin's unstable voice was calling him, wanting to know what kind of torture he had endured, wanting to know if he was alright, but Felix couldn't form an answer, he couldn't even breathe, he couldn't even understand why this was happening to him.

''It's so faint, come on, hurt him more.''

A hand ghosted over his arm where he was sure his mark was showing.

His mark that appeared whenever his Evol was active, a blatant sign that would sell him out time and time again even if he did manage to escape from here.

''You think I'd get an Evol too if I touched him now?''

How were they still wanting this even after watching him writhe like an unlucky insect that was being squashed on the floor?

He didn't understand their mindset, their motivation, their goal for doing this, if there even was one.

He just wanted to escape from the pain that was consuming his entire being, just pass out and deal with the consequences later, but his instincts as a hyung made him flinch the second he heard Jeongin whimper, his eyes shooting open and his body jerking up as far as his restraints would let him.

''Don't move.''

It was surreal.

Felix blinked in disbelief, but the knife pressed to Jeongin's throat remained, glinting dangerously in the sterile light from above while it rested almost comfortably against the most vulnerable part of his body.

Why was there a knife?

Why were they threatening his maknae?

Had he done something wrong?

He weakly shook his head, terror rising inside of him as he realized he still couldn't say anything, couldn't plead with these people to leave Jeongin alone, couldn't scream for help that wouldn't come, couldn't pray to a god he was starting to doubt.

_Don't hurt him, please don't, please..._

The words drifted through his mind, once again spiking his Evol which in return released another wave of fire, fire that was visible in his wrists as a white shimmering substance, as if his veins were made out of milk.

He shivered, his body hot to the touch again and his head dizzy, but still, he held his gaze on Jeongin because that was what a good hyung was supposed to do, that was what Chan would have done in the situation, or Minho or Changbin or Woojin.

There were tear tracks on Jeongin's cheeks as he whimpered miserably and it suddenly hit Felix how young he still was, how young both of them were actually.

This should not be happening to them, not now, not ever.

''Hm, I wonder...''

Someone pushed him back down again, their hand holding him in place as Felix's vision swam in front of his eyes, exhaustion taking over him, exhaustion and panic since he did not want to pass out when Jeongin was potentially going to be killed like this.

Logically, he knew of course that nobody in their right mind would be stupid enough to just dispose of an individual with an Evol like this, especially not with how rare these things were, but he still felt anxiety rising up inside of him, his Evol pouncing on every emotion that was beneficial for its survival and amplifying it for greater effect.

A sharp edge suddenly prodded at his mark experimentally and Felix's already sensitive body reared up, wanting to detach the prying object and the people who had obviously thought of another way to hurt him.

''If we cut the skin off right here, do you think the mark will come off too?'', a way too excited man mused, repeatedly tracing the skin around the mark with the sharp edge to indicate what he meant.

The rest of the people surrounding him seemed to consider this option, yet before one of them could come to a decision, Jeongin suddenly spoke up, voice strained but to Felix's surprise relatively composed, as if he had a plan on how to get out of this situation.

''No, stop, I won't let you!''

He slumped forward in his seat, causing the man still holding a knife to his throat to quickly remove it as he lowered his head down onto his knees, pleading with his Evol to do him this favor just this once.

Because Jeongin could do that.

His Evol didn't need stress or pain to show itself, it just came out whenever it felt like it and even though Jeongin wasn't exactly on good terms with it either, even though it liked hurting him too, he had no choice this time but to put his trust in the power possessing him.

And it actually listened.

The first telltale sign of this was that despite there not being any wind in the room, Jeongin's hair began swaying softly and a quiet hiss ripped from his throat, his Evol hurting him just as badly with its hormones.

''Wait, what is he-'', one of the Evol hunters questioned, but he never got to finish his sentence when Jeongin raised his head, power rolling off him like waves.

The air in the room changed abruptly, a certain electrical charge buzzing all around Felix, enveloping him, almost cradling him in an embrace while the world around him wordlessly screeched to a halt, all sound suffocated by a thick blanket of silence that was stretching over the scene.

Except it wasn't because Felix could still hear Jeongin's pained and ragged breaths as he tried to get enough air into his lungs and his squirming against the bonds holding him, apparently deeming them lose enough to try and make a run for it.

''Don't worry'', he wheezed, his hurt obvious as he fought with the double knot around his wrists. ''I'm coming. My Evol will get us out of here.''

_No, it won't._

Felix didn't believe in this possibility, he couldn't bring himself to trust the very thing that had put him _into _this situation in the first place.

It would probably betray them in a minute or so anyway and unfreeze time so that the Evol hunters could stuff them back into their room, yet here Jeongin was, having false hopes about their escape and he couldn't even try to reason with him because his voice was still missing.

His maknae heaved a sigh as soon as he managed to get the knot undone and freed himself in a hurry, finally taking off the damp blindfold that was soaked with his tears.

His gaze met Felix's and even though Felix knew what Jeongin looked like when his Evol was active, having experienced it several times already, he still managed to be surprised by how his eyes had changed.

His pupils were a little dilated, but what really stood out were the golden gears surrounding them, glowing with a faint light, yet still fading into the brown of his eyes to appear more natural.

It looked fascinating, but this was neither the time nor the place to admire the bodily changes that came with an Evol.

''Are you okay? Felix? Hyung?''

Jeongin quickly scanned his body for any injuries before he began to pry at the shackles that kept Felix's hands tied down, his movements erratic and impatient despite having literally all the time in the world.

And it was ironic because in reality, his time was running out. In reality, his Evol wouldn't help him for as long as he needed, just for as long as it wanted, for as long as it cared to be entertained by their feeble struggle.

Jeongin had to know that too, but he didn't admit to it and instead worked in absolute haste and silence, finally able to snap the cuffs open with a strength whose only source could be desperation.

With the cuffs open, Felix felt as if the invisible smoke in his throat dissipated into thin air and he coughed a few times to make sure his voice wouldn't fail him when he used it.

''I'm okay'', he managed to get out and the maknae nodded, relief washing over him as he reached out to take a hold of Felix's hand, intending to help him get up.

And Felix let him.

He should have known better, he really should have remembered the last time he had touched Jeongin with his Evol active, but his mind was fuzzy and his body was too hot and he didn't understand his Evol at all, so he let Jeongin take his hand.

He really should have known better.

As soon as their skin made contact, just the lightest touch exchanged between them, the electrical energy around them discharged and all of a sudden, Felix felt his world explode with white light, his body instantly locking up as he was thrown to the ground by the sheer force of the shock he suffered.

He heard Jeongin crash into a table across from him, the medical instruments all falling to the ground in a clattering mess, but then he hit his head on something hard and all he could make out after that was the ringing in his ears and a voice that was far too quiet for someone who was supposed to be in the room with him.

''-lix! Felix...!''

Jeongin was at his side in an instant and Felix briefly got a look at his eyes before dark spots invaded his vision.

They no longer had that faint glow in them, but he didn't find it in himself to feel scared or frustrated, all feelings slipping from his mind completely as his body was trying to shut down.

''Felix! Please!''

Jeongin was shaking him, but only the initial touch registered with Felix.

''Trying to use your Evol, huh?''

A threatening voice reached his ears and several thuds resounded through the room, followed by a shriek from Jeongin as he flinched away a little.

''NO, STAY AWAY! Felix? Felix, open your eyes!!''

He felt as if he was on the brink of passing out, his body refusing to respond to him and unconsciousness pulling at his mind, yet his Evol held him in this barely awake state because if he passed out, it could no longer operate.

''You little shit! Restrain him before he can use his power again!''

''Let go of me! I need to know if he's okay, I need- FELIX!''

The icy coldness of the ground was seeping into his body, a contrast to the hot substance trickling down the side of his face and someone -was it still Jeongin?- seemed to be touching him, pulling and slapping and pinching him, but everything blurred together in his head, making him unable to tell what was real and what wasn't.

''Jesus Christ, what a noisy brat. Sedate him already and bring them back to the room.''

''Don't touch him! Don't you dare!''

There was a frustrated growl from Jeongin and some obvious commotion around Felix, however, it all stilled suddenly and something -or someone- dropped to the floor next to him, the impact probably hard enough to bruise.

It was probably safe to say that their escape had failed before it had even begun.


End file.
